Field manual for investigating coral disease outbreaks

Coral reefs throughout their circumtropical range are declining at an accelerating rate. Recent predictions indicate that 20% of the world’s reefs have been degraded, another 24% are under imminent risk of collapse, and if current estimates hold, by 2030, 26% of the world’s reefs will be lost (Wilkinson 2004). Recent changes to these ecosystems have included losses of apex predators, reductions of important herbivorous fishes and invertebrates, and precipitous declines in living coral cover, with many reefs now dominated by macroalgae. Causes have been described in broad sweeping terms: global climate change, over-fishing and destructive fishing, land-based sources of pollution, sedimentation, hurricanes, mass bleaching events and disease. Recognition that corals can succumb to disease was first reported in the early 1970’s. Then it was a unique observation, with relatively few isolated reports until the mid 1990’s. Today disease has spread to over 150 species of coral, reported from 65 countries throughout all of the world’s tropical oceans (WCMC Global Coral Disease Database). While disease continues to increase in frequency and distribution throughout the world, definitive causes of coral diseases have remained elusive for the most part, with reef managers not sufficiently armed to combat it

Folic Acid Supplementation for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects: An Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force

AB Importance: Neural tube defects are among the most common congenital anomalies in the United States. Periconceptional folic acid supplementation is a primary care-relevant preventive intervention. Objective: To review the evidence on folic acid supplementation for preventing neural tube defects to inform the US Preventive Services Task Force for an updated Recommendation Statement. Data Sources: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and trial registries through January 28, 2016, with ongoing surveillance through November 11, 2016; references; experts. Study Selection: English-language studies of folic acid supplementation in women. Excluded were poor-quality studies; studies of prepubertal girls, men, women without the potential for childbearing, and neural tube defect recurrence; and studies conducted in developing countries. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Two investigators independently reviewed abstracts, full-text articles, and risk of bias of included studies. One investigator extracted data and a second checked accuracy. Because of heterogeneity, data were not pooled. Main Outcomes and Measures: Neural tube defects, harms of treatment (twinning, respiratory outcomes). Results: A total of 24 studies (N > 58 860) were included. In 1 randomized clinical trial from Hungary initiated in 1984, incidence of neural tube defects for folic acid supplementation compared with trace element supplementation was 0% vs 0.25% (Peto odds ratio [OR], 0.13 [95% CI, 0.03-0.65]; n = 4862). Odds ratios from cohort studies recruiting participants between 1984 and 1996 demonstrated beneficial associations and ranged from 0.11 to 0.27 (n = 19 982). Three of 4 case-control studies with data from 1976 through 1998 reported ORs ranging from 0.6 to 0.7 (n > 7121). Evidence of benefit led to food fortification in the United States beginning in 1998, after which no new prospective studies have been conducted. More recent case-control studies drawing from data collected after 1998 have not demonstrated a protective association consistently with folic acid supplementation, with ORs ranging from 0.93 to 1.4 and confidence intervals spanning the null (n > 13 990). Regarding harms, 1 trial (OR, 1.40 [95% CI, 0.89-2.21]; n = 4767) and 1 cohort study (OR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.91-1.18]; n = 2620) found no statistically significant increased risk of twinning. Three systematic reviews found no consistent evidence of increased risk of asthma (OR, 1.06 [95% CI, 0.99-1.14]; n = 14 438), wheezing, or allergy. Conclusions and Relevance: In studies conducted before the initiation of food fortification in the United States in 1998, folic acid supplementation provided protection against neural tube defects. Newer postfortification studies have not demonstrated a protective association but have the potential for misclassification and recall bias, which can attenuate the measured association of folic acid supplementation with neural tube defects. Copyright 2017 by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use. American Medical Association, 515 N. State St, Chicago, IL 60610

Role of livestock in human nutrition and health for poverty reduction in developing countries

Livestock keeping is critical for many of the poor in the developing world, often contributing to multiple livelihood objectives and offering pathways out of poverty. Livestock keeping also affects an indispensable asset of the poor, their human capital, through its impact on their own nutrition and health. This paper outlines the linkages between livestock keeping and the physical well-being of the poor, and examines a number of commonly held beliefs that misrepresent livestock development issues related to these linkages. These beliefs limit the scope of intervention programs to promote livestock and limit their potential contribution to poverty reduction. Recognition of the complexity of the role livestock play in household decision-making and of the opportunities foregone due to these misconceptions can enhance the ability of livestock to contribute to human well-being in the developing world

Comparison of advanced gravitational-wave detectors

We compare two advanced designs for gravitational-wave antennas in terms of their ability to detect two possible gravitational wave sources. Spherical, resonant mass antennas and interferometers incorporating resonant sideband extraction (RSE) were modeled using experimentally measurable parameters. The signal-to-noise ratio of each detector for a binary neutron star system and a rapidly rotating stellar core were calculated. For a range of plausible parameters we found that the advanced LIGO interferometer incorporating RSE gave higher signal-to-noise ratios than a spherical detector resonant at the same frequency for both sources. Spheres were found to be sensitive to these sources at distances beyond our galaxy. Interferometers were sensitive to these sources at far enough distances that several events per year would be expected

Possible background reductions in double beta decay experiments

The background induced by radioactive impurities of $^{208}\rm Tl$ and $^{214}\rm Bi$ in the source of the double beta experiment NEMO-3 has been investigated. New methods of data analysis which decrease the background from the above mentioned contamination are identified. The techniques can also be applied to other double beta decay experiments capable of measuring independently the energies of the two electrons.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted in the Nuclear Instruments and Methods

SUMO-2 and PIAS1 modulate insoluble mutant Huntingtin protein accumulation

A key feature in Huntington disease (HD) is the accumulation of mutant Huntingtin (HTT) protein, which may be regulated by posttranslational modifications. Here, we define the primary sites of SUMO modification in the amino-terminal domain of HTT, show modification downstream of this domain, and demonstrate that HTT is modified by the stress-inducible SUMO-2. A systematic study of E3 SUMO ligases demonstrates that PIAS1 is an E3 SUMO ligase for both HTT SUMO-1 and SUMO-2 modification and that reduction of dPIAS in a mutant HTT Drosophila model is protective. SUMO-2 modification regulates accumulation of insoluble HTT in HeLa cells in a manner that mimics proteasome inhibition and can be modulated by overexpression and acute knockdown of PIAS1. Finally, the accumulation of SUMO-2-modified proteins in the insoluble fraction of HD postmortem striata implicates SUMO-2 modification in the age-related pathogenic accumulation of mutant HTT and other cellular proteins that occurs during HD progression

Leveraging the sport participation legacy of the London 2012 Olympics: Senior managers’ perceptions

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sports mega event (SME) was leveraged to try and increase participation, through the investigation of national governing bodies (NGBs) opinions and atti- tudes. Critical realism (CR) was used as a tool to aid understanding of leveraging and legacy conceptualisation, through an empirical investiga- tion. An extensive, mixed method online survey was conducted post London 2012 with senior staff members of NGBs, the main delivery agent chosen to support the participation initiatives associated with the London 2012 Olympics. This research provides valuable findings surrounding the use of CR as a tool to investigate legacy creation, whilst at the same time offering insights to enhance the policy implementation process within the sports development sector. The importance of com- munication, competitive nature of sports system, media, club engage- ment, organisational capacity and monitoring and evaluation were highlighted, which provided useful insights into the multidimensional constructs that can aid future leveraging strategies prior to hosting SMEs

Exploring hydro-meteorological drought patterns over the Greater Horn of Africa (1979-2014) using remote sensing and reanalysis products

Spatio-temporal patterns of hydrological droughts over the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) are explored based on total water storage (TWS) changes derived from time-variable gravity field solutions of Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE, 2002-2014), together with those simulated by Modern Retrospective Analysis for Research Application (MERRA, 1980-2014). These hydrological extremes are then related to meteorological drought events estimated from observed monthly precipitation products of Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC, 1979-2010) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM, 1998-2014). The major focus of this contribution lies on the application of spatial Independent Component Analysis (sICA) to extract distinguished regions with similar rainfall and TWS with similar overall trend and seasonality. Rainfall and TWS are used to estimate Standard Precipitation Indices (SPIs) and Total Storage Deficit Indices (TSDIs), respectively that are employed to characterize frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological droughts over GHA. Significant positive (negative) changes in monthly rainfall over Ethiopia (Sudan) between 2002 and 2010 leading to a significant increase in TWS over the central GHA region were noted in both MERRA and GRACE TWS (2002-2014). However, these trends were completely reversed in the long-term (1980-2010) records of rainfall (GPCC) and TWS (MERRA). The four independent hydrological sub-regions extracted based on the sICA (i.e., Lake Victoria Basin, Ethiopia-Sudanese border, South Sudan, and Tanzania) indicated fairly distinct temporal patterns that matched reasonably well between precipitation and TWS changes. While meteorological droughts were found to be consistent with most previous studies in all sub-regions, their impacts are clearly observed in the TWS changes resulting in multiple years of extreme hydrological droughts. Correlations between SPI and TSDI were found to be significant over Lake Victoria Basin, South Sudan, and Tanzania. The low correlations between SPI and TSDI over Ethiopia are likely related to inconsistency between TWS and precipitation signals. Further, we found that hydrological droughts in these regions were significantly associated with Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events while El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) plays a secondary role

Interobserver variation in the classification of thymic lesions including biopsies and resection specimens in an international digital microscopy panel

Aims: Thymic tumours are rare in routine pathology practice. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) classification describes a number of well-defined categories, the classification remains challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of the WHO classification among a large group of international pathologists with expertise in thymic pathology and by using whole slide imaging to facilitate rapid diagnostic turnover. Methods and results: Three hundred and five tumours, consisting of 90 biopsies and 215 resection specimens, were reviewed with a panel-based virtual microscopy approach by a group of 13 pathologists with expertise in thymic tumours over a period of 6 years. The specimens were classified according to the WHO 2015 classification. The data were subjected to statistical analysis, and interobserver concordance (Fleiss kappa) was calculated. All cases were diagnosed within a time frame of 2 weeks. The overall level of agreement was substantial (j = 0.6762), and differed slightly between resection specimens (j = 0.7281) and biopsies (j = 0.5955). When analysis was limited to thymomas only, and they were grouped according to the European Society for Medical Oncology Clinical Practice Guidelines into B2, B3 versus A, AB, B1 and B3 versus A, AB, B1, B2, the level of agreement decreased slightly (j = 0.5506 and j = 0.4929, respectively). Difficulties arose in distinguishing thymoma from thymic carcinoma. Within the thymoma subgroup, difficulties in distinction were seen within the B group. Conclusions: Agreement in diagnosing thymic lesions is substantial when they are assessed by pathologists with experience of these rare tumours. Digital pathology decreases the turnaround time and facilitates access to what is essentially a multinational resource. This platform provides a template for de